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Performance in the 2008 financial year
Access to communications
Access to communications offers the single greatest opportunity for Vodafone
to make a strong contribution to society, with a considerable body of research
showing that telecommunications – and mobile communications in particular –
has the potential to change people’s lives for the better, by promoting economic
and social development. During the 2008 financial year, Vodafone continued
its focus on mobile payment services and own brand handsets for emerging
markets as follows:
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Vodafone has continued with the ambition of extending access to
communications in emerging markets by increasing the portfolio of own
branded handsets that introduce higher levels of technological development
and affordability so that more people are able to use more services. The Group
has shipped more than 10 million of these new handsets to more than 30
markets during the 2008 financial year.
Over two million people in Kenya have used the Vodafone M-PESA/Vodafone
Money Transfer mobile transaction service since its launch in February 2007,
with an average of 200,000 more signing up each month. Customers can pay
in and withdraw cash at local agents, transfer money to other mobile users
via SMS and buy prepaid airtime credit. Vodafone M-PESA/Vodafone Money
Transfer is being used by customers for a wide range of money transfer
transactions, with the majority of transaction values being below €20.
Partnering with local mobile operator Roshan, Vodafone is piloting a similar
scheme in Afghanistan and plans further launches in India and in other
African countries.
The Group is also finding ways to make mobile phones easier to use, particularly
for customers who are elderly, deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired or have
other disabilities. Examples include a speaking phone for the visually impaired
and special data tariffs for deaf customers. The Group is currently conducting
a strategic review of how best to address those issues and will announce the
development of a centre of excellence during the 2009 financial year.
Safe and trusted internet experience
Vodafone’s reputation depends on earning and maintaining the trust of its
customers. The way the Group deals with certain key consumer issues directly
impacts trust in Vodafone. These include responsible marketing, clear pricing,
protecting customers’ privacy and developing a mobile advertising proposition
that customers find acceptable. During the year, Vodafone has re-drafted its
responsible marketing guidelines to ensure that customers can continue to trust
the Group’s services in new areas such as mobile advertising, social networking
and digital marketing.
Age-restricted content
During the 2008 financial year, the Group’s research has shown that parents are
increasingly concerned about what their children see on the internet and it is
anticipated that those concerns will be transferred to children’s use of mobile
devices as parents become more aware of mobile internet.
Vodafone’s initiatives in these areas include:
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Vodafone – Performance
Corporate Responsibility continued
All mobile operating companies that offer age-restricted content have
implemented parental controls. These block access to age-restricted content
on the Vodafone live! domain to those under 18 years of age. Internet filters
are offered by eight operating companies, which also enable parents to prevent
their children accessing inappropriate age-restricted content on the internet
via their mobile phones. The mobile operating companies that have not
implemented the filter will remove individual access to the internet completely
on request.
Vodafone is leading a pan-European ICT Education Initiative in partnership with
other ICT companies and European Schoolnet, to develop online education
resources. These will help teachers understand new mobile and internet
technology and encourage their students to use it responsibly.
Vodafone is a founding member of the Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual
Abuse Content, launched by the GSMA in February 2008 to prevent users from
accessing websites identified as hosting child sexual abuse content.
A representative from Vodafone chaired the UK Home Office taskforce to
develop industry guidelines on social networking. Vodafone will develop its
own social networking guidelines for operating companies based on the
industry guidelines to inform the way access is offered to services like Bebo,
Facebook, Flickr, MySpace and YouTube.
60 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2008
Privacy and freedom of expression
In response to concerns raised about privacy and freedom of expression on the
internet, Vodafone continued to participate in a multi-stakeholder engagement
initiative to agree principles for companies on these issues. More than 20
academics, investors, companies and non-governmental organisations are now
involved in this process.
The Group launched mobile advertising activities in 11 markets, adopting a
conservative approach to content and privacy issues. Vodafone has begun to
monitor conformance with the Group’s global guidance on advertising and is
reviewing feedback on areas where the guidance should be clarified, adapted
or modified.
Climate change
Vodafone recognises that climate change is likely to result in profound
consequences for the environment, society and the economy. Limiting the
Group’s contribution is a priority and during the year the Group announced that
by 2020 it will reduce its CO 2 emissions by 50% against the 2007 financial year
baseline of 1.23 million tonnes. The Group is currently gathering data about the
carbon footprint of its newly acquired businesses in India and Turkey, and climate
change targets for these businesses will be announced in due course.
The Group reviewed the options for achieving this target, including carbon offsetting
as a last resort, and concluded that the most effective strategy is to cut
CO 2 emissions directly. The target is expected to be achieved principally through
operational changes and technological innovation to improve energy efficiency
in the networks. Renewable energy will be used when and where possible.
In addition, as part of the climate strategy, the Group announced that it will also
be focusing on developing products and services which will help customers limit
their own emissions. This is expected to include exploring consumer related
solutions such as solar-powered or universal chargers as well as improving
understanding of how mobile technology can enable lower emissions through
more efficient traffic management, logistic planning and scheduling and the
remote monitoring of utility meters.
Energy use associated with the operation of the network accounts for around
80% of the Group’s carbon dioxide emissions. In 2006, the Group set a target to
reduce CO 2 emissions per unit of data transmitted by 40% by 2011. This target
has been achieved in 2008, three years in advance, with network carbon dioxide
emissions per unit of data transmitted decreasing by 50% from 0.034 Kg/Mb to
0.17 Kg/Mb. In the 2008 financial year, Vodafone’s energy use was 2,996 GWh,
equating to 1.45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Sustainable products and services
Vodafone is developing programmes aimed at making delivery of its products and
services more sustainable. The key focus during the 2008 financial year was on
the reuse and recycling of handsets and accessories, and network equipment.
Mobile phones, accessories and the networks on which they operate require
upgrading, replacement and decommissioning. The Group complies with the EU’s
Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment directive through its handset recycling
programmes in all operating companies where it applies. The Group has also
worked with suppliers to ensure substances prohibited by the ‘Restriction of the
use of certain Hazardous Substances’ directive are phased out. During the 2008
financial year, 1.33 million phones were collected for reuse and recycling through
collection programmes in 16 mobile operating companies, achieving the Group’s
target. 11,849 tonnes of network equipment waste was generated, with 96% of
this sent for reuse or recycling, exceeding the target of 95%.
Mobile phones, masts and health
Vodafone recognises that there is public concern about the safety of Radio
Frequency (“RF”) fields from mobile phones and base stations. The Group
contributes to funding of independent scientific research to resolve scientific
uncertainty in areas identified by the World Health Organisation (“WHO”). The
WHO established an International EMF Project in 1996, which records global
research into mobile phones, masts and health and prioritises research needs.
In 2006, they identified the following three main areas for additional research:
long term (more than 10 years) exposure to low-level RF fields, possible health
effects of mobile use in children and dosimetry (the way levels of RF absorbed
are calculated).